Merchants of sound

For over a decade now,the Merchants have been making their own brand of music for the film industryeither striking background scores or peppy soundtracks with a distinct Indian touch for films like Fashion,Dor,Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi and Chak De!India. The number that goes to the Emmys has a strong backing of Indian instruments such as the tabla,sitar,santoor and the flute and is composed in the operatic style. Indian sounds find their way into our compositions quite often. But it is heartfelt,not forced,and depends on the script, says Salim.

The brothers have been making music together for 25 years now. While Salim used to play with his church choir in school,and then in his college band,he never got into a rock band. Sulaiman has been there,pounding drums for a band in college. We used to practice in the basements and garages of our building. We did one show and then broke up, says Sulaiman.

They come from a musical background. Father Sadruddin Merchant worked in the Tamil music industry as a music composer. They also studied Indian classical music at Trinity College of Music in Mumbai. Salim trained in classical harmonium and plays the keyboards and the piano. Sulaiman focuses on percussions like the tabla and the drums.

Their musical inclination took them through the usual routes. We started working when Salim was 16 and I was 19. Advertising was very big at that time and we would be doing jingles every day. We never took the whole profession thing very seriously because we were having too much fun. And as one thing led to another,we began working with Magnasound on their artists, says Sulaiman,who has worked with artists like Voodoo Rapper,Style Bhai,Shweta Shetty and Sagarika. Salim adds,Even now,when we are at the studio,its hardly work. Its a fun environment and music just flows.

Films started with the background score for a film called Hamesha in 1997,which they bagged by chance. We were working on a jingle when Sanjay Gupta,who was working in the film editing room in the same studio,heard it. He came to us and offered us the film, says Sulaiman.

Since then,they have done background scores for films such as Dhoom 2,Dostana and Singh is Kingg. The one that got them noticed was a film by Ram Gopal Varma. There have been a lot of turning points in our career. But Bhoot certainly would be the highlight when it comes to background scoring. It brought us to the fore. People recognised how a background score could change the film, says Salim.

The big project they are working on now is the background score for Kites. Forthcoming projects include background scores for Love Aaj Kal,Wanted and London Dreams. They are also composing soundtracks for Soham Shahs film Luck,Yash Raj Films Pyaar Impossible,Rocket Singh and Dharma Productions Qurbaan and Kootchie Kootchie Hota Hai. There are about 11 films we are working on this year, says Sulaiman.

Their musical influences range from Seal,Sting and Michael Jackson to Ustad Zakir Hussain and Ustad Sultan Khan. They have drawn influences from Hans Zimmer and John Williams when it comes to background scoring. Script is the first thing to keep in mind while composing. We have never tried to put a love song or an item number into a film where its not required. We also make songs that we would like to hear. Our cars are always playing our music and if we cannot enjoy our own songs,how can we expect our fans to enjoy them? says Salim.

While Aaja Nachle had classical Indian sounds, Fashion had orchestral pieces heavy on the santoor. In Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi,they filtered Shah Rukh Khans character through the qawwali-based Haule Haule. We could have gone with the techno stuff for Rab Ne… and it would have worked great with clubs but it would have been out of context for the character of Suri,who worked at the Punjab Power House, says Salim.

After collaborating for almost 25 years,the duo still blend their individual styles without any friction. It is because we are always ready to experiment with a certain style or a particular sound. When we sit together to work on a track,its almost like we are connected by some divine force, says Sulaiman.

Salim often performs on the stage with the Tabla Beat Sciencea group that comprises Ustad Zakir Hussain and American musician Bill Laswell. The brothers get together for gigs occasionally and are now thinking ahead. We are getting a band together and will soon start doing concerts and live gigs with our songs, he says. From clobbering drums in a garage in Mumbai,thats a long way.